For third time, House passes Bowman Dam bill

The U.S. House on Thursday — for the third time — passed the Central Oregon Jobs and Water Security Act, a bill that author Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., says would deliver much needed water to Prineville for job creation and pave the way for clean energy generation at Bowman Dam in Crook County.

A Senate version of the legislation made it out of committee earlier this year but was not voted on by the full Senate.

“This will be the third time in less than three years we’ve acted. Why are we doing it again? Because at some point we hope to wake up the Senate so they will actually take up this issue and pass it,” Walden said during debate on the House floor.

“This bill means jobs for Crook County, which has very high unemployment and poverty rates… we are trying to create jobs in America, do the right thing for the environment, and take care of problems at home. That’s what this is about. We hope that the Senate will finally take a look at these bills in a meaningful and thoughtful way and be able to come to the table with terms and work these things out,” Walden continued.

The bill was passed by the House as part of a larger package of energy bills, the American Energy Solutions for Lower Costs & More American Jobs Act. This package also includes proposals that would expand domestic energy production, lower energy prices, create good-paying jobs, and strengthen America’s national security, Walden said.

This marks the third year in a row that the House has passed the Bowman Dam bill. It previously passed the House unanimously in June 2012 and October 2013. So far, the Senate has not brought it up for a vote.

The House also again passed the Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act. The bill fixes broken federal forest policy to create jobs in the woods, improve forest health, reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire, and generate revenue for local communities to provide essential local services like schools and law enforcement. Click here for more information on this bill.

This bill was originally passed in the House nearly one year ago, but the Senate has refused to act on it. Thursday, the House passed it again as part of a package of jobs bills to encourage Senate action. Click here to watch Walden’s floor speech on that bill.

Here’s more background from Walden’s office:

Background on the Central Oregon Jobs and Water Security Act

Water for job creation in Crook County

The bill allows Prineville to utilize up to 5,100 acre feet of water from Prineville Reservoir, or about 6 percent of the total unallocated water behind the dam (80,000 acre feet). The water certainty would allow Prineville to entice new technology opportunities like Facebook and Apple, and service all of the homes within city limits.

Clean energy and new jobs at Bowman Dam

The bill would also clear the way for small-scale hydropower production at the base of Bowman Dam, creating about 50 jobs over the course of two construction seasons.

Legislation is necessary to make this happen because of the way the law is writtencurrently. In 1988, Congress designated 17.8 miles of the Crooked River as part of the “wild and scenic” rivers system, which is charged with preserving rivers with “outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free-flowing condition for the enjoyment of present and future generations.”

But when the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) drew up the maps for the new wild and scenic area on the Crooked River after the 1988 designation, they placed one end of the boundary right down the middle of Bowman Dam.

“There is nothing wild and scenic about a dam,”Waldenhas said.

Hydropower is not permitted in wild and scenic areas, so an act of Congress is required to fix the mistake and place the boundary line below the dam, where it should have been all along. Doing so will allow the hydropower project — and the jobs it would create — to go forward.

In a letter sent to Walden in 2008,BLM State Director Ed Shepardsaid, “The BLM does not believe that it was the intent of Congress to place the wild and scenic river boundary on the center of the dam or to even include the dam, but rather just below the dam and spillway structures.”

McKay Creek restoration and other conservation efforts

Because Prineville accesses its water from ground sources, the 5,100 acre feet of water would be released downstream, providing additional spilled water into the Crooked River that could benefit the blue-ribbon trout fishery below Bowman Dam. The bill also boosts conservation efforts in McKay Creek to enhance fish habitat.